Salvaging old drive belts

I doubt that they can be shrunk to an effective size, but here is something I did even after having be chastised for suggesting it before: I visited a hardware store and looked for "O" rings that were about the same diameter and thickness as a good belt. It may not be the proper tension and size, but when you have a machine that lacks only a belt and none are available, it is worth pursuing.

Generic belts are readily available from places like MCM Electronics.

You should be able to find something close enough.

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David: I keep seeing postings about how to make do with old, stretched, worn belts because replacement belts are, according to the poster, "impossible to get" ..... not so. Aftermarket belts are READILY available from many suppliers. Why screw around with old, worn belts or trying to make do with unsatisfactory, makeshift substitutions? Do you google? Do a google search for "tape deck belts" .... In less than a second you will obtain hundreds of good hits and locations where you can purchase NEW proper replacement belts. It can be a lot of work to get to the belts in some equipment, so make the most of your effort and install a new belt that won't fail in the near future.

--
Best Regards,
Daniel Sofie
Electronics Supply & Repair
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snipped:
"David Nebenzahl"  wrote in message
news:43da21ca$0$25066
> So since I'm pretty sure this will be hard to impossible to replace, I'm
> wondering if anyone has any techniques for shrinking or rejuvenating old
> belts. (It's still pretty supple and clean.) I tried heating it,
> carefully, and am letting it sit to see if that might have fixed it. (I
> guess another alternative is trying to harvest a belt, but I'd rather
> not go on that particular hunt.)
viable opposition.

sofie spake thus:

Why, indeed?

Of course. Doesn't everyone? Even clueless AOLers do it.

Well, of course, I did search for just that, but the links I got were less than useful; a lot of really badly-organized web sites with tons of stuff on them and no way to find anything. Someone else here mentioned a specific vendor (MCM Electronics), which I'll look up. Plus, the first thing I did was contact Philips themselves (why not at least try?); I'm going to call their customer service line right after this.

--
The only reason corrupt Republicans rule the roost in Washington
is because the corrupt Democrats can't muster any viable opposition.

Tritronics also has an assortment of belts by type and size.

Leonard

David Nebenzahl spake thus:

I may have found a source for replacements. Should have thought of this in the first place: *rely on local places FIRST*.

I called Philips, who of course don't have any parts for this, but they referred me to a local authorized service center nearby. I called them, and the guy kind of laughed when I told him what I wanted. But he said he could try to find a matching belt from what he had, so I dropped the old one off there. Should know by tomorrow if he found a match.

The moral of the story: before assuming that everything can (and should) be found on the Almighty Internet, check local shops first.

By the way, a small piece of information I picked up from Philips: while waiting, I asked the customer service woman how long they support products after they're no longer made. She said that they generally keep spares on hand for at least 5 years after something is discontinued, up to a maximum of about 8 years.

--
The only reason corrupt Republicans rule the roost in Washington
is because the corrupt Democrats can't muster any viable opposition.

And keep in mind that you probably won't find a match to your make and model. You'll have to estimate the circumfrance and diameter from the path the belt takes and reduce that by 5-10 percent. You might want to order a few belts of slightly different dimensions to be sure of getting one that is acceptable.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ:

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Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.